Thank God for Calvary!

  On one appointed evening, Jesus the Messiah, was confronted by a detachment of soldiers and officials from the chief priests and Pharisees at an olive grove, across the Kidron Valley.  Full of the Holy Spirit and power, He identified himself to the delegation that had come to arrest him by saying "I am he".  These three words alone caused the delegation to be slain to the ground, a vivid demonstration of God's power at work in Christ's life (John 18:6).  It is with no doubt that Christ did not need swords and arrows to defend Himself, and yet in great humility, He chose to drink the cup of suffering which the Father had set before Him.  Despite having authority over legions of angels, He allowed the Roman soldiers to bind Him, strip, pierce, wound and humiliate Him, and eventually lead him to the place of the Skull (Aramaic name-Golgotha; Latin name- Calvary) to be crucified with sinners. 

I have found my self in the last few weeks reflecting about what Christ did for me on Calvary and this has led my heart to worship in gratitude.  For believers who have been born again for several years now, it is easy to be so familiar with the story of the cross that we forget the costly price that was paid for our redemption.  Isaiah 53:3 describes Christ as being despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering.  He was despised and rejected that we may experience the Father's love, be reconciled to Him and never have to suffer shame.  On that cross, He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities and by His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5).  Despite being God and having the powers to deliver himself from the sufferings on the cross, He chose to lay down His life that I may live.  This kind of love is indescribable! It is too deep, too wide and too high for human comprehension!

Join me in reflecting on what Christ accomplished for us at Calvary:

• He chose me for fullness of life

1st Peter 2:9 states, "But you are a chosen people,...."  In John 15:16, Christ emphasizes the fact that we did not choose Him but rather, He chose us.  He further sheds light on the reason for our appointment: "that you may go and bear fruit- fruit that will last."  Through the work on Calvary, we were not only being reconciled to God but also being empowered to fulfill God's purpose for us as stipulated in Genesis 1:28- "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

• He made me a royal priesthood

According to Ryan Bonfiglio from University of Emory, "The term priest (kōhēn) is commonly used to refer to an official who was set apart from the rest of the community in order to carry out certain duties associated with worship and sacrifice. As "ministers of the LORD" (Joel 1:9; 2:17), priests functioned as mediators of God's presence and were responsible for the day-to-day operation of worship sites, whether the tabernacle, local shrines, or the Temple in Jerusalem."  What then does God really mean when He calls us a "royal priesthood" in 1st Peter 2:9?  Just like the Old Testament priests would stand before God on behalf of the people as well as stand before people on behalf of God, believers today are God's mouthpiece and representatives in this fallen world as well as intercessors who stand in prayer before God on behalf of the people.  I thank God that through the work that Christ accomplished at Calvary, the veil was torn into two and I can now approach the throne of God in confidence, to receive mercy and find grace (Hebrews 4:16).  Unlike in the Old Testament, where the presence of God dwelt in the Tabernacle, the presence of God dwells in me for I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Through the sacrificial work of Christ at Calvary, The Lord- Holy and Mighty- has chosen to make our hearts his home!  What a blessing, that believers can enjoy an unbroken, intimate fellowship with God each moment of their lives! 

• He made me holy

Christ, whom knew no sin, became sin for us so that we may be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  No wander 1st Peter 2:9 states, "But you are ... a holy nation...."  Our holiness is apart from our works; it is actually by reason of the penalty of sin paid by Christ as He endured excruciating pain, unimaginable suffering, shame and death at Calvary.  Christ paid the ultimate penalty for our sin.  Thus, our righteousness is purely a work of grace received through faith!  I thank God that righteousness has been credited to me apart from works, for even my best works are as filthy rags before Him.  "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."  No wonder we experience such indescribable joy when we accept Jesus Christ into our lives- the burdens and guilt of sin is lifted off, and our position in God is restored for we become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2nd Corinthians 5:21).

• He made me His own 

1st Peter 2:9 states, "But you are ... God’s special possession...."  Deuteronomy 7:16 calls us "God's treasured possession."  We are not our own, everything we are and have belong to God.  Believers have an identity in Christ, for they are marked in Him with a seal: the blessed Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).  You and I can confidently walk with our heads raised and our shoulders high, in spite of our present circumstances since we know whose we are: sons and daughters of the Most High God.  God has not only put a seal of ownership on us but has also deposited the blessed Holy Spirit in us as a deposit, guaranteeing us of what is to come (2nd Corinthians 1:22).

• He made me a child of God

1st Peter 2: 10 states, "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."  For us who are Gentiles to better appreciate our appointment, we need to understand that our position before Christ died on Calvary was that of separation from Christ and foreigners to the covenants of the promise.  We were without hope and without God!  It is only through the blood of Christ that we have been made new and have been reconciled to God.  Thus, we are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household.  You and I can confidently call God "Abba Father" for He has given us the right to become children of God (John 1:12).

• He delivered me from the curse of the law 

Galatians 3:13 states, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us", for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole."  The Mosaic law clearly stipulated the curses of disobeying God's commands.  These curses included curses upon a city and country; basket and kneading trough; fruit of the womb; crops of the land; calves of the herd; and lambs of the flock (Deuteronomy 28).  Romans 3:21 states that we have all fallen short of God's glory.  This means that all mankind is under the curse of the law, because we are all born in sin.  However, at Calvary, Christ cancelled our legal indebtedness which stood against us and condemned us.  He nailed our indebtedness on the cross (Colossians 2:14).

• He provided for my healing 

1st Peter 2:24 states, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed".  Healing (physical, emotional and spiritual) was part of Christ's agenda for us as he hang on the cross.  He was wounded for our healing (Isaiah 53:5).  The work at the cross was enough to make us whole!  That work was enough to heal all diseases, in spite of their names, origins and effects!

• He made me rich

It is humbling to think of the fact that Christ chose to leave his heavenly glory and splendour, and to be made man, that I may enjoy life in abundance.  2nd Corinthians 8:9 states, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."  Christ redeemed us from spiritual and material poverty.  His intent is that we may have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).  This abundant life is available for us in Christ Jesus.


Join me in making this prayer:

"Lord I thank you for the price you paid for the penalty of my sin. May the understanding of your sacrifice for my redemption, never depart from my heart.  Thank you for your great love for me- that you loved me even before I loved you and chose to lay down your life for my redemption.  May this revelation of your love forever cause me to love and revere you.   Help me to live a life that is acceptable worship before you, for that is the least I can do as my expression of thanks to all that you have done for me.  By your grace, may my commitment to love you with all my heart, soul and mind be renewed in me, this Christmas!"